Wilson's "The Planetary Killer"

 

Vocabulary:

Background on Wilson:

Other links::

 

Questions:

 

1.  Read the following three passages.  In your groups, get a sense of what each is saying.  Then identify differences between them.  What do these differences teach you about the human condition.

 

a.  Genesis 1:28-30:  "And God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.'  And God said, 'Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.  And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.'  And it was so."

 

b.  Al Gore, Earth in the Balance, page 218:  "The Cartesian approach to the human story allows us to believe that we are separate from the earth, entitled to view it as nothing more than an inanimate collection of resources that we can exploit however we like; and this fundamental misperception has led us to our current crisis.  But if the new story of the Deep Ecologists is dangerously wrong, it does at least provoke an essential question:  What new story can explain the relationship between human civilization and the earth--and how we have come to a moment of such crisis?  One part of the answer is clear:  our new story must describe and foster the basis for a natural and healthy relationship between human beings and the earth.  The old story of God's covenant with both the earth and humankind, and its assignment to human beings of the role of good stewards and faithful servants, was--before it was misinterpreted and twisted in the service of the Cartesian world view--a powerful, nobler, and just explanation of who we are in relation to God's earth.  What we need today is a fresh telling of our story with the distortions removed."

 

c.  Wilson, "The Planetary Killer," page 194:  "Mass extinctions in Australia did not begin with the arrival of Western civilization.  The cataclysm of its mammals during the past two centuries is only the latest episode in a much longer history of the decline of the overall fauna.  ...  It appears that the European colonists of Australia, long afterward and aided by their companion rats, rabbits, and foxes, have merely carried the extinction process to the next level beyond that inflicted by the aboriginals."

 

2.  What is Native Americans' attitude toward nature? Does it illustrate a greater oneness and harmony with the natural world, which might provide a model for reorienting Western civilization?  On the other hand, do you believe that this view of Native Americans is romanticized and unrealistic?  Might the solution to environmental crisis lie in technology instead of a return to an aboriginal lifestyle?  Do you even believe that there IS an environmental crisis?

 

3.  Wilson writes on page 199, "Humanity has so far played the role of planetary killer, concerned only with its own short-term survival.  We have cut much of the heart out of biodiversity.  The conservation ethic, whether expressed as taboo, totemism [kinship], or science, has generally come too late and too little to save the most vulnerable of life forms."  What does he mean by conservation "as taboo, totemism, or science"?  Here is a definition of "conservation" that your professor memorized in junior high school:  "Conservation is the dynamic management of our natural resources to benefit the most people for the longest period of time."  Does conservation, so defined, seem like a viable solution to the ills that Wilson describes?  On the other hand, do we need to upgrade conservation to include preservation and restoration?  Or do you think that we're doing okay right now and that environmental crisis is overblown?  What do your answers to these questions (and to 2) tell you about yourself and about the human condition?

 

4.  Wilson's chapter is about the extinction of species around the world.  Do some research on the internet and find out how many species in South Carolina are on the endangered species' list.  If possible, find out as well how many species that got put on the list are now extinct.  Then ask your classmates to guess how many.  You can surprise them with some interesting facts.  See, for example, https://www.dnr.sc.gov/pls/heritage/county_species.select_county_map. 

 

5.  Do some research about a classical figure named Antaeus (a warrior who was invincible until he was separated from the earth).  Lewis Thomas, in his book Lives of a Cell, has an essay called "Antaeus in Manhattan" that is directly relevant to our discussion of environmentalism.  What is wrong with human beings, he argues, is that they have been cut off from the earth, and something essential has died as a result.  See if you can relate the Antaeus myth to anything in Wilson's chapter and to our own situation in the early part of the 21st century.

 

6.  A great case to discuss is the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, where President Bush wants us to drill for oil:  http://arctic.fws.gov/, http://www.anwr.org/, http://www.anwr.org/photo.htm, http://www.nrdc.org/land/wilderness/arctic.asp, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_National_Wildlife_Refuge, http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-0028-01/.  Many other links to ANWR are available; for example, here is one that you may want to reproduce for the class:  http://bioagnews.byu.edu/newsrelease.aspx?ID=116. 

 

Here is a summary of pro-drilling arguments:  http://www.unc.edu/~money/geography/anwr1.html. 

 

7.  Think about your own contributions to ecological disaster.  Does our lifestyle lead to the extinction of the sort of species that Wilson writes about?  If your answer is that you have trouble seeing a connection, what does that tell you about yourself and about the human condition?

 

8.  Consider Chief Seattle's statements:

All Sacred

Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the woods, every clearing and humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people. The sap which courses through the trees carries the memories of the red man. The white man’s dead forget the country of their birth when they go to walk among the stars. Our dead never forget this beautiful earth, for it is the mother of the red man. We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters; the deer, the horse, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the juices in the meadows, the body heat of the pony, and man—all belong to the same family.

Not Easy

So, when the Great Chief in Washington send word that he wishes to buy our land, he asks much of us. The Great Chief sends word he will reserve a place so that we can live comfortably to ourselves. He will be our father and we will be his children. So we will consider your offer to buy our land. But it will not be easy. For this land is sacred to us. This shining water that moves in streams and rivers is not just water but the blood of our ancestors. If we sell you land, you must remember that it is sacred, and you must teach your children that it is sacred and that each ghostly reflection in the clear water of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people. The water’s murmur is the voice of my father’s father.

For the whole speech go to http://ncseonline.org/nae/docs/chiefrep.html.  \

9.  Consider Antaeus at http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/herculespeople/p/antaeus.htm: 

Who Was Antaeus?:

Antaeus, son of Gaia, was a Libyan giant whose strength appeared invicible. He challenged all travelers to a wrestling match which he invariably won. Upon winning he slaughtered his adversaries. That is, until he met Hercules.

Antaeus Challenges Hercules:

Hercules was on his way back from the Hesperides when the giant challenged the hero to a wrestling match. No matter how many times Hercules threw Antaeus off and tossed him to the ground, it did no good. If anything, the giant appeared rejuvenated from the encounter.

Strength of Antaeus From His Mother Gaia:

Hercules eventually realized that the earth, Antaeus' mother, was the source of his strength, so Hercules held the giant aloft until all his power had drained away. After he killed Antaeus, Hercules proceeded safely back to his task master, King Eurystheus.

Spellings of Antaeus:

Antaeus is also spelled Antaios.

Ancient Sources for Antaeus:

Some ancient writers who mention Antaeus are Pindar, Apollodorus, and Quintus Smyrnus.